Pre-Columbian Chinesco Anthropomorphic Effigy Vessel

Lagunillas (Chinesco) Type D

Nayarit, Mexico

Protoclassic 100 BCE – 250 CE

Buff earthenware with deep red, burnished slip

Size: 12-1/4″ in height.

Provenance: Ex. Apollo Auction house, KY. Old Collection from 1976.

Old restoration, Bottom restored from several pieces with some losses, spout has a one inche repair otherwise intact. Lovely manganese dioxide blooms across the surface of the ceramic attest to its antiquity.

The uniquely styled, pill-shaped jar with thick, tubular spout-like forms leading to a well-modeled human head. The finely appliqued features of the male’s face and hair are in contrast to the voluminous, red-slipped body. It is possible such elaborately constructed effigy jars or bottles once held a liquid offering for the deceased.

For the type of vessel form: Museo Nacional de Antropología | Colecciones (inah.gob.mx)